Sunday, July 24, 2016

A Sucker for Corn

As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.

The few moments of pleasure I am afforded after doing this blog, I am able in a few minute walk through of the garden and test plots to be cleansed of the evil of the world and observe what the Lord is teaching me about heirloom corn.

It is sadness to look at what modern agriculture has done to corn, for it is not really corn at all. All corn is now, is one 9 foot stalk, planted thick like dog's hair, all for a product of Monsanto which has no food value or flavor.

The reality is, far too many of the open pollinated corns offered are the same refined nature.

It is in this drought year which has me noticing the value of suckers. Of course they reduce corn yield, but they do not prevent yield or the corns would not survive.

I am currently studying some of the Oscar Will varieties he rescued, and to the last one, most of them sucker freely. It occurs to me on the dry plains of America, that there is immense value in a corn which would sucker, as it provides not only corn to eat, but fodder for livestock.

For silage or for bales, this greater amount of leaf, compared to stalk would be more attractive to animals. I noted last year that some popcorns I was testing, the cattle left one plot alone, but ate most of the stalks on a sweet corn and a field corn which I am not at liberty to share with as this is my work.

The point is, American agriculture has been producing single stalk corn, for yields of corn kernels, but sometimes corn has additional value as a fodder crop, and that is where suckering corns would be superior, as it is the point in a survival farm, that you can only eat so much corn, and for filler, the leaves would turn into goats, sheep, cattle and horses, which would be of greater value. It is one of the miracles of farming in cow shit turns into corn and corn turns into baby calves or eggs.

I realize that suckers would take away from corn kernel production, but I had various varieties last year, and planted far too close, and too thickly and I still got a good enough yield, with suckering corn.
Then again last year my 6 foot corn was 9 feet, and it was not an extremely wet year. All the same, I understand now God's miracles in making corn the way he originally intended.

I can divulge the name though of a top of the crop corn, and it is Rustler. Again it is an old Oscar Will variety of white dent corn. In a horrid primitive plot years ago, this corn produced nicely in what would be drought conditions. It surprised me this year in I had two ears laying on top of our fridge for at least 5 years. Corn is not supposed to last 2 years to germinate, but this stuff I shelled off the cob grew quite well. I believe it would have been better in a full germination, but it was so dry here that some of the kernels never had rain on them to germinate.

I wanted a yellow corn for market selling and that is why I left Rustler in peace, but for feeding and a dependable corn which handles insects quite well and is not that attractive to baby fawns who like sampling sweet corn and my beet tops, Rustler is a very good corn in I have never had any problems with it. I am hoping the plants I have make it this year to obtain a plot size planting for next year.
Then again I forgot I had Nothstine to plant this year to expand that seed base, so who knows sometimes in what gets planted. God gives the land and then I will have acres and be able to market seed for people too ignorant or lazy to propagate corn from 50 kernels, but are intelligent and industrious enough to put in a few acres each year to keep a viable seed supply and feed it to their animals to make them healthy and their products as meat, milk and eggs healthy for human consumption.

This though is an observation for how one can have both corn and fodder too in these older varieties. This is not even mentioned any more as no one considers what it is like to use a scythe to cut hay for animals in all the work it is.
The day fuel runs dry is the day people will figure out that "Gee I probably should not have lived life like the well was never going to go dry."